MLB.com's Jane Lee blogs about the Oakland A's

A’s select Gray with first-round Draft pick

With the 18th overall pick in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft, the A’s on Monday continued a decade-long college trend and selected right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray out of Vanderbilt University.

Gray, a 21-year-old who just completed his junior season, was 11-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 16 starts for Vanderbilt this year. He struck out 115 in 107 2/3 innings and compiled a 1.04 WHIP.

Coming out of high school in 2008, Gray dropped to the Cubs in the 27th round primarily because of his strong commitment to Vanderbilt. Listed at only 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, the young hurler has faced countless questions about his small stature but is said to boast tremendous makeup.

Gray, an aggressive pitcher early in the count who will take the quick outs, owns a power fastball that cruises along at 92-95 miles per hour and has the potential to reach up to 97 when necessary. He also boasts a plus curveball and locates his changeup well.

The A’s will now look toward the 105th pick (third round) and 136th pick (fourth round). They relinquished their second-round choice to Tampa Bay when they signed Type A free-agent reliever Grant Balfour in the offseason.

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

1 Comment

Glad to see the A’s take a strong arm with their first-round pick. If we can develop some hitters, the 2012 playoffs won’t be out of reach. Every time I see Andre Eithier and Carlos Gonzalez in the highlights, I cringe. What could have been!

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.